What happened to our kids???

I teach high school English. And, I entered the profession to be a positive influence in the lives of children and to help them acquire and keep a respect, maybe even an interest, for literature and the arts. To say that maintaining these ideals isn't always easy in an actual classroom, would be an understatement. But, I am still hopeful... and, I still try to reach everyone with my passion for literature, 'life on paper' as I like to call it.

But, maintaining that passion is very hard when you read things like "he should have tooken..." in a SENIOR's essay. Yes, I teach seniors who still can't avoid writing things like "tooken" on their papers. I also had a student recently who began a formal essay on a Shakespeare play with, "See here, let me tell you something about my boy Macbeth..."

Why is this okay?? What happened to grammar in the lives of school children?

I have taken two years off of teaching, and this is my first year back after a stint in another industry. I taught previously in what some would consider a rough school, and it pains me to admit that even in a better a school and in a better school district, that I have noticed kids getting worse academically. Of course, there are the really strong students, but the college prep students I teach have a much different attitude towards school than I remember having when I was in their shoes.

So, in keeping with what seems to be the theme of 2009, we need a CHANGE America.